Developing AI- and IoT-Based Crab Farming and Hydroponic Agriculture Technologies: UNHAS Faculty of Engineering Collaborates with Osaka Institute of Technology (OIT)

In order to optimize and maximize the yields of crab farming and hydroponic agriculture, a research team from the UNHAS Faculty of Engineering has developed a technology approach based on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT). In developing this technology, the UNHAS Faculty of Engineering has partnered with the Osaka Institute of Technology (OIT) in Japan to conduct collaborative research. This collaborative research project is fully funded by the Japanese IoT partner.

For this collaborative research, the UNHAS Faculty of Engineering research team is led directly by Dr. Eng. Muhammad Niswar, Head of the Computing and Networking Laboratory in the Department of Computer Engineering at the UNHAS Faculty of Engineering, while the OIT Japan team is led by Dr. Eng. Shigeru Kashihara, Head of the Cyber-Human System Laboratory at OIT. This collaborative research also involves a master’s student in Computer Engineering, Mr. Riswandi, and a final-year undergraduate student, Mr. Juan Jimmy. These two students from the Department of Computer Engineering joined the student team at the Cyber-Human Systems Laboratory at OIT Japan for one semester with funding support from JASSO.

To monitor the progress of this collaborative research, the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering at Unhas, Prof. Dr. Eng. Muhammad Isran Ramli, paid a visit to the Cyber-Human System Laboratory at OIT on February 2, 2023. During this visit, the Dean of the Unhas Faculty of Engineering was accompanied by the Vice Dean for Academic and Student Affairs, Amil Ahmad Ilham, PhD; the Chair of the Collaborative Research Team from the Unhas Faculty of Engineering, Dr. Eng. Muhammad Niswar; and Prof. Rudi Djamaluddin, who serves as the Point of Contact (PIC) for the Unhas Faculty of Engineering’s collaboration in Japan.

During this academic visit to OIT Japan, the FT Unhas delegation also held an academic meeting with the leadership of OIT’s Faculty of Information Science and Technology (FIST). The FT Unhas delegation was received directly by the Dean of OIT’s Faculty of Information Science and Technology, Professor Shigeru Kashihara, and several other FIST OIT faculty leaders. During this academic meeting, both parties agreed to continue the various types of academic collaboration activities that have been carried out to date. Furthermore, both parties discussed opportunities and potential for academic and research collaboration that can be further developed for the academic communities of both institutions, including: student exchange, research collaboration on other technology-related topics, and faculty exchanges to share expertise, in the form of guest speakers at joint seminars, conferences, or symposia, and/or international guest lectures, as well as the development of e-PBL (Problem-Based Learning)-based teaching methods.